Beer is Banned from 2022 World Cup Stadiums
Just a few days before the start of the 2022 World Cup, another change is happening in Qatar. The sale of beer is no longer allowed outside the eight World Cup stadiums after complaints from the host nation.
Up until the last 24 hours, Qatar was going to relax their drinking restrictions to allow traveling fans to have a pint or two outside the stadiums before matches. For the most part, the sale of alcohol is illegal in Qatar with only certain hotels being allowed to sell it.
“Following discussions between host country authorities and FIFA, a decision has been made to focus the sale of alcoholic beverages on the FIFA Fan Festival, other fan destinations and licensed venues, removing sales points of beer from Qatar’s 2022 World Cup stadium perimeters,” FIFA said in a statement.
While alcoholic beer will no longer be sold outside stadiums, beer with zero percent alcohol will still be sold.
“There is no impact to the sale of Bud Zero which will remain available at all of Qatar’s World Cup stadiums,” FIFA continued in their statements.
The beer that was going to be sold in Qatar was Budweiser, they are one of the biggest sponsors of the 2022 World Cup. AB InBev, which is the umbrella company that owns Budweiser, paid around $75 million to be the exclusive beer sponsor of the 2022 World Cup, according to CNN. With their beer no longer being sold in view of the stadiums, FIFA will be breaching its contract.
The only place that will be allowed to sell beer, as of now, is the FIFA fan zone. But be prepared for steep prices as a single beer will be $14, which compared to prices at sports events in the United States, is not much of a difference. In the rest of the world, this price is outrageous and far higher than what beer would be sold for elsewhere.
There is still a way to have alcohol inside the stadiums and that is by purchasing a hospitality package. However, those ticket prices range from $400 to $1500 for an individual ticket.
Sure the sudden ban on beer may be an issue to some, but the bigger concern is what else Qatar may suddenly decide to change. They already have loads of rules and regulations that anyone who breaks will be imprisoned or deported. The host nation also demanded that the opening match of the 2022 World Cup between Qatar and Ecuador be moved a day earlier so the hosts can play on their own day.
***
Check out the Vendetta Twitch!!
SUBSCRIBE to the Vendetta YouTube!!
